Another T20 World Cup exit leaves India with tough questions

India dropped as many as 10 catches during the tournament, the third-worst tally among all teams.

New Delhi: India’s elimination from the Women’s T20 World Cup has inevitably put Harmanpreet Kaur’s future as captain under scrutiny, and one thing appears certain — the team is staring at a reset.

The six-wicket defeat to Australia on Sunday that knocked India out of contention for the semifinals only brought into sharp focus what had become increasingly evident — the women in Blue, despite being pre-tournament favourites, were a side still searching for answers.

It was a second successive T20 World Cup under Harmanpreet’s leadership in which India failed to reach the knockouts, reviving uncomfortable questions about the team’s direction in the format.

“Rethink” was the word both Harmanpreet and head coach Amol Muzumdar used after the campaign ended. The need for a reset is difficult to ignore.

Time up for Harmanpreet as T20I captain?

Less than a year after leading India to their maiden ODI World Cup title, Harmanpreet finds herself at another crossroads.

The 37-year-old remains India’s most successful T20I captain and one of the defining figures of Indian women’s cricket. But yet another disappointing T20 World Cup campaign has brought her future in the shortest format into focus.

Muzumdar, however, has backed the veteran.

“It’s up to the selectors to decide the captain. I think, yes. My short and sweet answer would be yes,” he said when asked if Harmanpreet would continue as captain.

But it is hard to ignore that under her leadership, the team underperformed in all three departments in England.

India entered the tournament without a settled combination, continued to shuffle personnel and batting positions, and frequently appeared reactive rather than proactive in pressure situations.

Whether she continues as captain would ultimately depend on how the selectors interpret India’s latest World Cup failure.

Harmanpreet’s own returns with the bat also merit scrutiny.

Since the 2024 T20 World Cup, the India skipper has crossed the fifty-run mark only four times in 24 innings, underlining her inconsistent form.

Her fighting knock against Australia, played with India’s campaign hanging by a thread, was a reminder of her class and ability to rise on the biggest occasions. Yet, it remained her only substantial contribution with the bat in the tournament.

In the previous matches, Harmanpreet struggled to impose herself through the middle overs and was unable to provide both stability or acceleration expected from India’s most experienced batter.

Unsettled combinations

For a team carrying serious title ambitions, India spent an alarming amount of time trying to identify their best XI.

Questions over the pace attack, middle-order composition, and all-round options remained unresolved even in the latter stages of the tournament.

The team used multiple seam attacks during the five group games. Nandani Sharma and Kranti Gaud played three matches each, while Renuka Singh and Arundhati Reddy featured in only two games apiece.

Injuries to pace-bowling all-rounder Amanjot Kaur and off-spinner Shreyanka Patil compounded the woes.

While Muzumdar defended the bowling unit by pointing to a lack of experience, India’s struggles cannot be attributed solely to that.

Of the eight frontline bowlers in the squad, four have played more than 50 T20Is.

Ironically, one of the least experienced among them, left-arm spinner Shree Charani, emerged as India’s standout bowler with 14 wickets in five matches at an economy rate of 5.85.

The limited use of an experienced campaigner like Renuka also raised questions.

Defensive approach

India have spoken repeatedly about adopting a fearless brand of cricket, but their approach often appeared conservative.

The middle overs remained an area of concern as the batting unit frequently lost momentum after the powerplay.

Yastika Bhatia and Jemimah Rodrigues, who were expected to form the backbone of the middle order alongside Harmanpreet, endured disappointing campaigns.

Neither batter is known for power-hitting, yet India persisted with both. While Jemimah batted at No. 3 during the England series preceding the World Cup, Yastika was promoted to one down in the ICC event.

The tactical confusion was evident in the must-win clash against Australia.

Jemimah, who struggled to find boundaries consistently, was sent in at No. 3 when India required a batter to go on with an aggressive intent.

The inability of the middle order to accelerate invariably left Richa Ghosh and Deepti Sharma with too much to do in too little time throughout the campaign.

The episode underlined India’s reluctance to take risks against stronger oppositions, preferring consolidation over aggression.

Perhaps the larger concern is that even after four seasons of the Women’s Premier League, no middle-order batter has mounted a strong challenge to established players.

Poor fielding

“Catches win matches” remains one of cricket’s oldest adages, and India learned that lesson the hard way, once again, as their ordinary fielding proved to be one of the biggest reasons behind early exit.

India dropped as many as 10 catches during the tournament, the third-worst tally among all teams.

The most damaging lapses came against South Africa as Marizanne Kapp, who was dropped thrice, guided them to a crucial victory.

There were missed opportunities against Bangladesh too with four dropped catches in the first five overs of the contest. Misfields and lapses in the deep repeatedly allowed opponents to recover from difficult situations.